In Thailand, it's a very serious offence to besmirch any of the royal family.
this man lived there for 10 years. i have only visited twice for two weeks at a time. as a tourist i knew about the seriousness of the offence, so i have not the slightest doubt this man knew fully what was sure to happen.
obey the laws in any country you are in, is my motto.
you know what? i could go to prison if i raised my arm in the nazi salute here in Germany. thems the rules. while i have no desire to raise my arm in the nazi salute, i nevertheless respect the law.
i'm sure if you find the Thai law offensive regarding respecting the royal family, you won't want to visit and the Thais would appreciate it if you didn't.
oh yes. about the ten year sentence: he faced a maximum sentence of 75 years but got a leinient sentence because he admitted his guilt.
and btw: i wonder why he'd moved to Thailand anyway.
curious, no?
there is a comment in this article which i find
very interesting:
......the ubiquitous placing of the King’s image everywhere in Thailand began as a CIA/USIA program to spread loyalty to the monarchy to the masses to counter the threat of communism.
http://rspas.anu.edu.au/rmap/newmandala/2007/03/14/oliver-jufer-royal-graffiti-and-global-news/
there are several more comments which bear taking a look at on this site. getting to the root of what has exactly occurred today. more to it all than meets the eye, apparently.
